The FTC has conducted an investigation of Don Juravin, Roca Labs and the "Gastric Bypass Alternative"-No Surgery.Here is just a few of MANY of the findings...

What customers who paid hundreds of dollars for this supposed gastric bypass alternative actually got were common dietary fibers that have been shown to be of little, if any, help in weight loss. The undisputed facts of this case show that Defendants leveraged these core deceptions, and several other deceptive and unfair practices." Defendants also promoted their product through apparently neutral or unbiased referrals. For example, Defendants operated GastricBypass.me, a purportedly independent website providing information about bariatric surgery and alternatives to surgery. Juravin created this site (to educate and scare people about gastric bypass surgery), and Defendants sometimes directed traffic to it via search advertising.

There was no disclosure on the GastricBypass.me site that it was affiliated with RLI. Also at Juravins direction, Defendants had their agents create blogs, make embellished or fictitious forum posts or reviews and comment on Roca Labs Facebook ads, all to promote the products and direct traffic to Defendants websites. Defendants endorsements were deceptive. They ran a fake informational website, purporting to educate consumers about gastric bypass surgery, but in reality promoting the Roca Labs products.

In some of their videos, they used actors who had never used Roca Labs products, reading scripts written by Juravin and those working at his direction. "Defendants had no competent and reliable scientific evidence to support any of these claims. The FTCs expert, Dr. Steven Heymsfield, reviewed material on the Roca Labs products and ingredients, and other scientific literature.

He found no scientific basis for the challenged claims." Medical Legitimacy There is so much information in the FTC investigation, I wanted to dedicate one page addressing the weight-loss and other medical claims of the "Gastric Bypass Alternative" - NO SURGERY from Roca Labs and Don Juravin. We'll start with the claims: (all excerpts are from the FTC's Summary Judgement) "Well Im sure youre wondering, what is the success rate? Roca Labs Formula is scientifically proven to have a 90% success rate. It will always achieve a gastric bypass effect by physically occupying your stomach, leaving only 20% available space for 10-16 hours.

Youll eat 50% less, and can spare your body as much as 2,000 unnecessary calories a day without feeling any urge to overeat. That equals 15 pounds a month." However, the FTC concluded the following: "What customers who paid hundreds of dollars for this supposed gastric bypass alternative actually got were common dietary fibers that have been shown to be of little, if any, help in weight loss." And in regards to the legitimacy of the medicinal claims of the product, the FTC stated: "Defendants had no competent and reliable scientific evidence to support any of these claims. The FTCs expert, Dr. Steven Heymsfield, reviewed material on the Roca Labs products and ingredients, and other scientific literature.

He found no scientific basis for the challenged claims." "Defendants expert, Dr. Jay Hoffman, did not even evaluate whether the challenged claims were substantiated; thus, the FTCs evidence on this crucial point is unrebutted." "Defendants do not possess any study that substantiates their claims. They had one inadequate clinical study on the Roca Labs products themselves, the Clinical Study Report by the Center for Applied Health Sciences (CAHS). That study was completed in September 2015years after Defendants had started making claims.

As Dr. Heymsfield notes, that study found no changes in body weight during the 28-day duration, nor were there any statistically significant findings that users felt less hungry when taking the products." "Defendants admit it does not substantiate their claims." "Based on his review, Dr. Heymsfield offered his expert opinion that the literature on weight loss and individual dietary fibers, as well as the research summaries provided by Roca Labs, do not provide competent and reliable scientific evidence for any of the Roca Labs claims." "Defendants expert agrees." Well, there you have it. There is so much more info they found about all Don Juravin's shady dealings.